Overview
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday to set aside the FCC Media Bureau’s March public notice that would have allowed political parties and some joint fundraising committees to claim the statutory lowest unit charge for broadcast ads.
- The majority reasoned that federal campaign finance law and the LUC statute limit the candidate rate to candidates and their authorized committees because parties back multiple candidates and cannot be authorized committees for a single campaign.
- Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson dissented, arguing the court lacked jurisdiction to review the Media Bureau notice and warning that denying party access raises First Amendment concerns about party-candidate collaboration.
- The ruling means parties and joint fundraising committees with non-candidate members will not get candidate-rate ads for the September 45/60-day windows unless an appeals court or the Supreme Court reverses the decision.
- The dispute follows a June Supreme Court ruling that loosened limits on coordinated spending, which increased the value of candidate-rate ads and prompted both Republican committees and the FCC to signal they will seek expedited appeals, making high-court review likely.